Came across this painting on google Images and had to stop and do the 'cover the side with my finger' thing for like 5 minutes. This is truly profound, perhaps the best asymmetric pantocrator there is. So subtle yet so meaningful. So much that can be drawn from this artwork. I'm genuinely astounded that this is a modern work.
Wow, thank you for those generous words! I'm thrilled to hear that the asymmetry resonated so much with you. I'm forever in awe of the Pantocrator icon at St. Catherine Monastery for the iconographer's incredible ingenuity in portraying the asymmetry.
Cesar Borgia deserves a mention… And, I was hoping you would unpack the symbolism represented by the posture of the fingers on the right hand… and more…
This is a great way to demonstrate how what we observe as a religion and the “iesus” that we consider the “Ben Yahuah” are both vile corruptions of the Babylonian syncretism that has been the basis of our man-made framework of social control.
Thanks Vee! Curious, a few other people have made this comment about Cesar Borgia to me in other places. Are you thinking that Borgia face was potentially used as the model for Christ's face?
One of the most notorious members of Renaissance Italy’s most notorious dynasties, the cruel Cesare was thought to be the inspiration for Niccolo Machiavelli’s satirical handbook for would-be tyrants, The Prince.
Thanks to his father – who became Pope Alexander VI in 1471 – Cesare was made a bishop at the age of 15 and a cardinal at the age of 18. At this point in history the Pope directly ruled over a kingdom that dominated central Italy from its capital of Rome.
Though a rising star in the church, Cesare fancied himself a military man. There was one problem though, his father had chosen that career for his older brother, Giovanni. Pope Alexander had appointed his pride and joy Captain General of the Church — the supreme commander of the Papal States’ armed forces.
It’s certainly true that images of Cesare Borgia from the period are uncannily similar to the images of Christ painted around the same time. Cesare even gazes serenely off canvas in his most famous depiction.
His friendship with Leonardo da Vinci may have also helped popularize a particular depiction of Jesus that echoed Cesare’s appearance. (Inevitably, given Cesare’s reputation, they were also rumoured to have been lovers).
Perhaps it's true that da Vinci used Cesare's face for his model.
But, to be clear, the face of Christ as we know it today (and the one I've completed above) predates da Vinci's Christ paintings by more than a thousand years. We have the Holy Face icons and the icon-not-made-by hands, etc.
According to tradition, King Abgar of Edessa received a cloth that Christ wiped his face on which permanently imprinted His likeness. This cloth became the icon-not-made-by-hands, and of the Holy Face icons are the foundations for Christ's face in iconography tradition (not da Vinci).
Though, I'm willing to grant that perhaps some modern paintings of Christ are based on da Vinci's Christ because they're unaware of the rich iconography tradition. Here I'm thinking Warner Sallman 'Head of Christ' from the mid 20th.
Came across this painting on google Images and had to stop and do the 'cover the side with my finger' thing for like 5 minutes. This is truly profound, perhaps the best asymmetric pantocrator there is. So subtle yet so meaningful. So much that can be drawn from this artwork. I'm genuinely astounded that this is a modern work.
Wow, thank you for those generous words! I'm thrilled to hear that the asymmetry resonated so much with you. I'm forever in awe of the Pantocrator icon at St. Catherine Monastery for the iconographer's incredible ingenuity in portraying the asymmetry.
Cesar Borgia deserves a mention… And, I was hoping you would unpack the symbolism represented by the posture of the fingers on the right hand… and more…
This is a great way to demonstrate how what we observe as a religion and the “iesus” that we consider the “Ben Yahuah” are both vile corruptions of the Babylonian syncretism that has been the basis of our man-made framework of social control.
Great work, IJ!
Thanks Vee! Curious, a few other people have made this comment about Cesar Borgia to me in other places. Are you thinking that Borgia face was potentially used as the model for Christ's face?
Worth considering these historical facts…
One of the most notorious members of Renaissance Italy’s most notorious dynasties, the cruel Cesare was thought to be the inspiration for Niccolo Machiavelli’s satirical handbook for would-be tyrants, The Prince.
Thanks to his father – who became Pope Alexander VI in 1471 – Cesare was made a bishop at the age of 15 and a cardinal at the age of 18. At this point in history the Pope directly ruled over a kingdom that dominated central Italy from its capital of Rome.
Though a rising star in the church, Cesare fancied himself a military man. There was one problem though, his father had chosen that career for his older brother, Giovanni. Pope Alexander had appointed his pride and joy Captain General of the Church — the supreme commander of the Papal States’ armed forces.
It’s certainly true that images of Cesare Borgia from the period are uncannily similar to the images of Christ painted around the same time. Cesare even gazes serenely off canvas in his most famous depiction.
His friendship with Leonardo da Vinci may have also helped popularize a particular depiction of Jesus that echoed Cesare’s appearance. (Inevitably, given Cesare’s reputation, they were also rumoured to have been lovers).
https://christianeducatorsacademy.com/was-cesare-borgia-jesus-shocking-truth-revealed/
Perhaps it's true that da Vinci used Cesare's face for his model.
But, to be clear, the face of Christ as we know it today (and the one I've completed above) predates da Vinci's Christ paintings by more than a thousand years. We have the Holy Face icons and the icon-not-made-by hands, etc.
According to tradition, King Abgar of Edessa received a cloth that Christ wiped his face on which permanently imprinted His likeness. This cloth became the icon-not-made-by-hands, and of the Holy Face icons are the foundations for Christ's face in iconography tradition (not da Vinci).
Though, I'm willing to grant that perhaps some modern paintings of Christ are based on da Vinci's Christ because they're unaware of the rich iconography tradition. Here I'm thinking Warner Sallman 'Head of Christ' from the mid 20th.